An HIT Moment with … Scott Anderson

An HIT Moment with ... is a quick interview with someone we find interesting. Scott Anderson is the president and partner of KIG Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a NextGen reseller based in St. Louis that covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.

If I’m a doctor, why would I want to buy from a reseller?

We offer a local presence and flexibility as a smaller, privately-held firm. That allows us to "over-serve" our customers, by, for example, taking the time to step back and look at their practice before training begins. It makes no sense to take a bad paper process and make it electronic.

And we have a great partner in NextGen, while allows us to access their terrific corporate resources as well.

What’s the hardest thing about selling EMRs?

If we are in front of the right groups, of the right size and specialty, it is overcoming a physician’s reluctance to embark on the path to EMR. It is such a paradigm shift for them, and they are hesitant.

Thankfully, we have satisfied doctor/practice manager clients who are willing to step up and speak our praises and the praises of EMR in general. Frankly, there are some that won’t adopt an EMR until they are dragged kicking and screaming. We have learned to identify them pretty quickly and move on.

How does the market look for this year?

I feel better about our pipeline in this first quarter than any first quarter in our five-year history. We are seeing interest at most every spot of the market — small, medium and large. There are some that are stepping back and waiting to see what President Obama or their hospital might offer, but many more are realizing that there is no such thing as a free lunch. 

We have also been able to demonstrate a decent ROI if they commit to using the system as designed, although we have seen some troubling signs of the economy and how it has affected some practices.

What is your biggest challenge?

Finding good people, without a doubt. I spend 30 percent of everyday looking for talent and then nurturing the people we already have. This is a people business. 

Among the major players, the technology will continue to become more standardized and similar. It is our implementation and post-sale support that should separate us from the pack. And that begins and ends with motivated, well-trained, and happy people.

How do we keep them besides the work and the changes it can bring? Great benefits to start. We pay 100 percent of their healthcare coverage for the employee and their families. We work hard to limit the travel wherever possible so they don’t burn out on the road by making sure they are home on Thursday night and don’t leave again until Monday morning. We try very hard to convince them they have a stake in the business.

One more thing: I think we all need to do a much better job in terms of educating our audience. We need to listen more and talk less.